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Wednesday, February 10, 2010

FAMILIAR with photo ops of an US bureaucrat meeting top Indian leaders? Yes, the reverse too has become a reality now. A top Indian bureaucrat, urban development secretary M Ramachandran and one of the senior most diplomats, Indian ambassador to US Meera Shankar recently met a senior colleague of US president Barack Obama, and discussed a whole range of issues including municipal bond market and public private partnership among others.

Mr Ramachandran and Ambassador Shankar took up a number of issues like urban sanitation and energy efficiency with Shaun Donovan, secretary in US department in housing and urban development. Mr Donovan’s rank is equivalent to a minister in India.

In fact, Mr Ramachandran who single-handedly initiated a big-ticket loan from the World Bank during his US visit last year, has now made a serious attempt to hard-sell Indian cities to big US investors. In addition to packaging India’s urban story to US companies, over-enthusiastic Mr Ramachandran invited Peter M Rogoff, administrator of US Federal Transit Administration to visit an urban mobility conference to be held in Delhi only in December 3-5, 2010. Yes, the conference will take place five months after he retires as urban development secretary!

(In picture: Mr Ramachandran addressing a gathering of India US Business Council in mid-January, 2010)

Leading power PSU, NTPC organized a workshop on implementation of RTI Act in PSUs in New Delhi on Tuesday which was participated by public information officers from ONGC, MMTC, CIL, BHEL and Powergrid to name a few. “A Practical Handbook on Right to Information Act-2005” written by SR Khaneja was released by NTPC chairman RS Sharma.

a) Justice Chandramauli Kumar Prasad, Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court has been appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court.

b) Two CSS officers of deputy secretary rank, SK Gupta and SK Jain, have been promoted to the level of director. Whereas Mr Gupta who is now in the department of administration reforms and public grievances will be posted as a director in the ministry of home affairs, Mr Jain will now be a director in the ministry of commerce.

There was no need for Mr Ramachandran and his cronies to get tips from Obama’s aides on modern Sanitation systems in India. All those who have failed in removing the shanties from prime areas of Delhi like Lodhi Colony, Defence Colony, R.K. Puram and so on.., how could they provide or set up sanitation system for big cities in the country. Lopsided and shallow planning and thinking would only lead to moving with handkerchief on your nose. Its only throwing dust and ash in the eyes of innocent people. No dearth of experts on this country who could advise them on these matters. But who listens to them. So many like Ramachandran have come and gone but things almost remain standstill. It’s merely a cozy tour on government expenses to promote one’s own interest.

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